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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. firm — decided
  4. firm — steady
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. shower — rain
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. shower — to wash
  9. snap — to click
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. file — a line of people
  16. file — a tool
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. file — a document
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. firm — a company
  22. row — a line
  23. fork — in a road
  24. mine — for digging

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com